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From the Pastor - 3rd Sunday in Lent

Mar 18, 2022

Today’s Gospel passage reminds us that life is precious and the gift of time on this earth is just that — a gift. None of us knows how much time will be granted to us, so we must use this gift intentionally to glorify God and serve our neighbor.


Jesus offers the parable of the fig tree to further illustrate this truth. The owner of the orchard came searching for fruit on a fig tree he had planted in his orchard. Finding no fruit on the tree after three years, he told the gardener to cut it down. But the gardener intercedes and asks for one more year to cultivate and fertilize the tree in hopes it would bear fruit in the future. The fig tree was not dying; it simply wasn’t doing much of anything at all. Can this be said of us and our lives as well?


The season of Lent is a time to carefully reflect on the way we spend our time. Do we make God our first priority, tending to our spiritual growth and sacramental life with diligence? Do we give the next priority to our loved ones, focusing intentionally on them each day without distractions from phones, screens, or thoughts of work? If not, now is the moment to repent of our waste of time or of misplaced priorities on our use of time. God is merciful but just. Let’s turn to Him and ask Him to make our lives fruitful while we still have time to do so. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2022


Pastoral Pondering

Last week the pondering focused on the Eucharistic Kerygma. This week we are considering the second aspect of Eucharistic renewal and that is Participation in the Liturgy (Leitourgia). Back when the Pew Research Study was released, it became clear that there was a significant lack of belief in the Eucharist among many who identified themselves as Catholic. As we know, this caught the attention of the Bishops and resulted in the present effort to focus on Eucharistic renewal in the Church.


While it is true that a better effort at Eucharistic catechesis is important in this renewal, this does not only mean faith formation programs. In fact, the 2001 Synod of Bishops noted that “the best catechesis on the Eucharist is the Eucharist itself, celebrated well. Throughout the centuries, the Church has taught that the way we worship and pray (lex orandi) expresses in the concrete what the Church believes and teaches (lex credendi). Hence, the synod fathers noted that greater attention needed to be given to the proper celebration of the Eucharist.


The fathers of the Second Vatican Council would have been in complete agreement with this sentiment and, in fact, noted the importance of the ars celebrandi, the manner of celebrating. In light of this, Roland Millare notes: “During this period of intentional Eucharistic renewal, every minister should examine how he prepares for and participates in the Mass: the priest, the deacon, the servers, emcees, the lectors, the sacristan, extraordinary ministers…ushers and the faithful. Every gesture, word and action should be carried out with reverence and focus.”


Closely related to the manner of celebration is also the importance of beauty in the liturgy and the role of music as an aid to liturgical celebration. Beauty, in the architecture, sacred artwork, vessels for celebration and liturgical furnishings should speak to the sacredness of the space and what occurs there. The Church in all of these elements should point to the heavenly realities. The same can be said for sacred music, which is considered the “supreme art within the ars celebrandi.”



Pope Benedict noted that the “texts, music, and execution” require careful attention because “they ought to correspond to the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, the structure of the rite, and the liturgical season.” Historically, and sadly, there was a period following the Council in which liturgical music was ignored to focus more on styles similar to Woodstock than to the Mass of the ages. This not only reduced liturgical music and the Mass to a certain emotionalism but also often failed to communicate correct Catholic teaching. This is not to say that all forms of contemporary liturgical music are sub par. Rather it is a reminder that liturgical music, like the celebration of the Mass itself, need to develop harmoniously with the Church teaching and historical development. One of the important teaching of the Council, that often gets ignored or only minimal attention in many places is the reminder that Gregorian chant and liturgical chant have pride of place in the liturgical assembly. Ongoing catechesis then is necessary to help us regain our understanding of the liturgy and all of the elements that contribute to its worthy celebration. When the faithful have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the relationship if the liturgy to Salvation History, a greater love can develop for the faithful execution if what we have been given and what these sacred mysteries imply in relationship to our daily lives.


From the Pastor

From the Pastor - Sixth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • 03 May, 2024
Our readings today call us to love as Christ loves. In our Gospel, Jesus says, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The ways Jesus has loved us and continues to love us are endless. We are called to imitate this love. And He tells us the greatest way to do this when He said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” It is difficult to live that out in our humanity. Yet, it is made much easier when we faithfully love Christ. The fact of the matter is, as our love for Christ increases, so too does our capacity to love others. There are countless moments when we can do just that — for instance, waking up Saturday morning to attend daily Mass instead of sleeping in, or talking to God in the car on the way to work instead of listening to music. These are simple ways to express our love for the Lord by laying down our lives for Him. The more we find ways to love the Lord, the more we will find it easier to put aside our selfishness and serve others. Christ’s command to love others may seem daunting. Yet, Christ would never ask something of us that we cannot live out. All we need to do is take baby steps. Ask yourself, "How can I better love Jesus right now?" for it is in loving Christ that we will better love others, and it is in loving others that we love Christ Himself. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering  Last week I had the opportunity of spending the afternoon with my childhood pastor, the Reverend Fred Thompson. He served as the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Newton, NC for over 30 years. He is now 91 years old and continues to live a fairly independent life. We lost touch when my family moved from Newton to Hickory as I began grammar school but reconnected during my undergraduate studies at Lenoir-Rhyne College. We have stayed in touch since then. Such connections from the past are very important. At least in my case, Fred knew things about my parents and my adoption that I never did, and he is always happy to share a story or two. I bring this up because memory, what we refer to in the Mass as anamnesis, is essential not only to our faith but to society as a whole. Our collective memory is important. Significant events of the past are passed on from one generation to the next, and we hopefully learn from our mistakes so that we don’t repeat them. In the Catholic context, we are being obedient to Christ’s command at the Last Supper, do this in memory of me.” And it is through that remembrance that we cannot the past with the present and look with hope to the future – Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. This is why Sacred Tradition is so very important to our understanding of the Faith. That which is handed over (traditio) is essential because it forms the framework upon which the Church travels throughout the centuries. The same is true in families. In the past multiple generations would live together or in close proximity to each other. Children learned about life from a variety of family members with varying degrees of lived experience and a wealth of memory. With our society becoming more transitory and human interaction being impoverished by the reality of technology, families need to be very intentional about connecting with the past. It helps us all understand who we are, why we are here and for what we were made.

From the Pastor - Fifth Sunday of Easter

By John Putnam • 26 Apr, 2024
Our readings today teach us what it means to bear fruit as disciples of Christ. We hear in each of our readings that it is from the Lord that good effects will be produced in our lives. In our first reading, we hear about disciples who were preaching the Good News and defending the faith. The work they were doing was “with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.” It was not their work alone, but the work of God. We must ask ourselves, ‘how is God bearing fruit in my life?’ and ‘have I invited the Holy Spirit to work in me?’ The more we try to produce good effects in our lives, the more we will become disappointed if all we are relying on is our own efforts. It is only by inviting the Holy Spirit into our everyday moments that we will see goodness poured out. Jesus clearly tells us how to do this in our Gospel. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” We can remain in Christ by staying faithful to His commandments and frequently receiving the sacraments. And our day-to-day moments should be a reflection of those commitments. That could mean opening our day with a prayer of thanksgiving, smiling at those we see on the street, asking God for help as we begin our workday, praising God in moments of trial, taking time to listen to our spouse after a long day. To remain in Christ means, in all that we do, we do it with the Lord. When we live a life like that — as a branch never separated from its vine — God will produce bountiful fruit in our lives. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering I have had a few folks interested in what exactly occurs when a diocese received a new bishop, so I thought I would outline the process a bit for a contribution to your knowledge of Catholic trivia. Before a new bishop can be appointed, the diocese in question has to be vacant. A vacancy occurs through death, retirement, resignation or removal. In our case, Bishop Jugis submitted his resignation based on his deteriorating health, one of the reasons that a bishop can ask to be relieved of the administration of a diocese. Once the Holy Father accepts the resignation, the See becomes vacant. During the interim or sede vacante (vacant seat) period, the diocese needs to have someone to keep things going. This is done by either a priest, who is appointed administrator or by a bishop, who is known as an apostolic administrator. In our case Bishop Jugis continues as the apostolic administrator. Since his successor has already been named, Bishop Jugis can help prepare for the new bishop’s transition. As soon as a see is vacated, several offices and one advisory body cease to function. Any vicars general or episcopal vicars lose their office and the Presbyteral Council ceases until reconstituted by the new bishop. Both the Judicial Vicar and the Chief Financial Office of the diocese continue in office to insure the ongoing functions of their offices. Bishop Jugis, as Apostolic Administrator, has asked those priests who were serving as his vicar general and episcopal vicars to continue performing their functions in the interim. When the new Bishop is installed, he can reappoint the vicars or appoint others to take their places. If a priest is appointed as the new bishop, he must be ordained a bishop before he can assume the office. Once ordained, a ceremony occurs, usually a Mass, during which the newly ordained bishop takes possession of the diocese and assumed the full pastoral care of the Diocese. Hence, Bishop-elect Martin will be ordained on May 29 th and then will take possession of the Diocese on the following day.  A lot of work can be done to prepare for the new bishop’s arrival prior to his coming. Nonetheless, the first few weeks of his administration will be taken up with settling into his new position and getting his bearings. This is very similar to a new pastor coming to a parish; albeit, on a larger scale. During these early days of the new administration, the new bishop decides on vicar appointments and reconstitutes the Presbyteral Council and makes any other decisions that he deems appropriate for pastoral care. Often new bishops spend a good bit of time visiting the new parishes of the new Diocese to get to know his priests and meet his people. In Bishop-elect Martin’s case, he will be ordaining transitional deacons on the Saturday following his own ordination and then ordaining priests two weeks later, so he will indeed “hit the ground running”. Keep him in your prayers.
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